On April 1, 2009 Fort Walla Walla Museum will open its 42nd season of visitation at the current location on Myra Road in "beautiful, historic Walla Walla." Nevertheless, the Museum traces its roots to a pioneer association of the 1880s. Through one incarnation into another to this point, the mission is to preserve and share Walla Walla regional heritage.
What is regional? When Walla Walla became a county in 1859 ... at the time Oregon went from territorial status to statehood ... the county encompassed more than 160,000 square miles in what are now Washington (east of the Cascade Mountains), Idaho, Western Montana, and Southwest Wyoming. It didn't last long, but it is historical fact. These days, the Museum considers 'region' to mean the area served by the troopers who were posted at our namesake fort. In practical, modern terms, that accounts for our trade area, too. We include the more than 300,000 people who live more or less within an hour's drive of the Museum. Beyond that, each year we welcome visitors from all 50 states and generally 30+ countries, arriving at a final count of more than 20,000 visitors.
This year marks a new take on what we do. Our five exhibit halls are approaching their life expectancy, and while their contents are engaging, the buildings are inadequate to the foremost task of our mission: preservation. Each hall is a stand-alone structure with two doorways. While three of the buildings have some climate control, the entrance and egress of visitors during the day continually alters the interior climate, as well as providing superhighways for insects and other vermin who might find dining on precious artifacts a gourmet feast. Much research (and no small expense) was devoted to upgrading and connecting the five buildings. Refitting such buildings with modern features proved prohibitively expensive.
To the rescue rode architect Jim Stenkamp, who offered -without fee- to examine the plans to see what might be done more effeciently. Voila! The result was a three-phase plan to replace all five existing buildings with new state-of-the-art, fully connected and, eventually, a completely enclosed space surrounding a quadrangle or, in fort parlance, a 'parade ground.' While the basic concept has been in development for a decade, physical changes are only recently underway. With adequate funding completed last year making a nice beginning, Collections Manager Laura Schulz led a team of volunteers in removing all the artifacts, props, and display accoutrements from Exhibit Hall I. Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Jim Klees and his volunteers began removing 2 x 4s and strandboard to be re-used/recyled into the new construction. Last Sunday, February 15, 2009, a crowd of 75 or so interpid folks braved dank, chilly weather to support our groundbreaking ceremony.
Since then, our general contractor, Opp & Seibold General Construction, Inc., has set up a perimeter around the construction site. From destruction comes construction: first to happen will be the demolition of Exhibit Hall I. We who currently work at the Museum are indebted to those who provided us this place so many years ago. In their honor, much of the concrete of the existing building will become aggregate in the concrete of the new Entrance Building and Grand Hall. In all, something like 80% of the existing structure will be re-used in this and other projects. The legacy of our forbearers will truly be the foundation of the next era at Fort Walla Walla Museum.
In the meantime, fundraising continues to help fulfill some of the unfunded goals of the project. If you're interested in helping us carry the past into the future, contact the Museum at info@fortwallawallamuseum.org or call 509.525.7703.
(The photo: that's me, Communications Manager Paul Franzmann clad in my Living History livery for a performance of John Colter at 2:00 pm Sunday, April 5. Colter was a member of the Lewis & Clark expedition that passed through -coming and going in 1805-06- what would become Walla Walla County).
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